A few words from a professional procrastinator

I did not go to medical school and for those who dream of being a surgeon, this is probably the closest thing most of us will ever get next to the classic game “Operation”

Operation Commercial from 1989

Trauma Team is the latest incarnation from Atlus. Currently the 5th in the series, two Nintendo DS games and two Wii games. I’ve played them all and this is the most polished one of them all. The first game came out for the DS on 2005 and it was hell to finish. At the easiest level, the game difficulty was set pretty high that once you reached a certain level, your patient will die. Frustration just came over me and I wanted to throw the DS right out the window. I gave up on the game until the Wii version was released.

The Wii version is a direct port of the DS game with some minor changes such an additional playable character and surgeries. The best part about is game is the lowered difficulty. Though it’s still challenging, it now allows you to reach until the last stage. The games focus on a terrorist organization using biochemical warfare to further their means. The first half of these trauma games is pretty straightforward with the usual tumors, gunshot wounds or pacemaker replacement. The second half is where the game starts to pull on reality. The terrorist pathogen does weird things to the patient with scenarios that doesn’t seem plausible. Add to the fact that you are gifted with the “healing touch”, this uncanny gift which slows down time and gives you extra time to work on the patient. But even with these unbelievable scenarios it’s still an enjoyable game.

Trauma Center: Healing Touch

Now comes Trauma Team. You don’t just play 2 characters. You now get to play five different characters with different specialties and brings a new angle to the world of videogame surgery. You get to work on different environments such as diagnostics, emergency, orthopedic surgery, endoscopy, investigation and of course general surgery. All the storylines will eventually unlock the final phase of the game and reveal the dark secret of the story. The wii remote is great especially for the endoscopic surgery due to the mapping of the controls. Orthopedics seems a bit too easy and the ER scenes are absolutely heart pounding where every second counts and patients keep coming. My favorite has to be the Dr. House situation in diagnosing the patients or the CSI situation where I find out what really happened as a forensic doctor. Come to think of it, it’s more Bones than CSI.

My diagnosis? This is the best Trauma Center game Atlus has every made. The story is believable. The surgical procedures is doable. I actually wish that the game was longer. Or at least could be extended with downloadable content. But since the Wii doesn’t have that. Maybe we can expect a port coming to the PlayStation Move? We can always wish for these things.

Nintendo announced a few days ago a new extra large DSi. It will be first released in Japan with other regions to follow in 2010. It is originally meant for “older” gamers who want a bigger screen to read and more space to use the stylus.

The DSi LL is about and inch larger than the current DSi. I guess the bigger screen also does not help with the battery life either as the the DS Lite still has the longest playtime for the handheld. Notice the bigger stylus. Now it really looks like a pen.

Judging from the screenshots, the bigger screen seem to have better graphics than it’s predecessor.

But I also know that the graphics are originally made for a specific resolution. Thus any graphical improvement if any is limited to the size of the displayed image and not from the image itself. In short, the bigger screen will not improve the quality of the graphics. Think of it like you just zoomed in an image and you’re seeing the bigger pixels.

Will I get one? I think not. If you already own the previous incarnations of the DS then there is no need to pick this one up. Unless you want to get your parents or grandparents a DS then this should be the right thing. But then there’s the issue of the cost. In Japan, the DSi LL will set you back ¥ 20,000 ($220 USD, or Php 10,000++). This practically puts it in the same price range as the PSP Go which retails at ¥ 26,800. Unless Nintendo phases out and drops the price on this thing I may even consider a purchase. But still, I’m still very happy with my battered DS Lite which I got a while back and the DSi doesn’t have anything that interests me right now.

I’ll wait until my current DS (knocks on wood) to die before I even think about picking this one up or if they release something so earthshaking on the DSi platform that I really must have. I think this is a safe step up for Nintendo by giving more of the same features as the original DS but incrementally adding features to keep a new crowd interested. Much like what Apple does with the iPod.

The Nintendo DS LL will be released on November 21 in Japan and early 2010 in North America and other territories.

Say goodbye to the region free handheld gaming of before. Nintendo had always been region free when it came to their handhelds and now they will implement the lock due to its “internet features”. Huh?! I thought them internets were all the same wherever we went?

Let’s just hope they don’t release something cool in Japan that we can’t get on the North American version of the DSi. I also hope that the physical games will still be region free.

One thing I don’t get with the region locks in any console is the fact that the language barrier alone is already a turn off from buying let’s say the latest Bleach game. But I’m a fan and has a basic knowledge of gaming hiragana and katakan. Wouldn’t me purchasing the game be of any help to the game? If the developer would like it to be restricted to region, they can always build that in. But as for me I prefer region free gaming so I’m not always stuck with North American games.

My post may be a little late in the making but let’s face it. There’s a new Nintendo DS on the block and it’s the DSi. Say goodbye to the GBA slot and say hello to the SD card slot. Smile for the 3MP camera and get ready to buy games via WiFi at the DSi shop.

My surprise was the SD card slot. For the uninformed, piracy on the handheld is done primarily through these portable storage devices and usually requires the user to purchase an add on to install on the DS to be able to use SD cards on it. Wouldn’t this make it easier. Nintendo gets plus points on the built in browser and the camera but it had a shorter battery life than the current version. The screen is bigger by 17% which is a significant improvement but does it warrant the $180 price tag?

I would just get it because I’m a gadget freak but it’s not enough for current buyers in my opinion. The camera comes in a little late in the game unless they can think of something else to do with it. Hint hint, a portable eye toy maybe? It might make me think twice if it was at the same price point as the DS lite. But Nintendo has announced that there is no plan of removing the DS lite from store shelves anytime soon.

Kotaku posts the question whether or not Atlus’ Trauma Center franchise should be expanded to other consoles.

After having finished all the games with the exception of the first DS game where I’m stuck a little past half way, the Wii controllers and the DS stylus is the way to go. The way the game is controlled really gives that feeling that you’re a wannabe doctor trying to save fake lives.

Bottom line, I don’t see this game playable on any other console other than Nintendo’s.

Yes! Miyamoto said it! They are working on a new Pikmin game. When it will come out is still anybody’s guess but at least they haven’t forgotten Olimar and the Pikmin entirely! Can I hope earliest Holiday 2009 – Spring 2010? On the Wii? With a DS add on? Or another game entirely for it? I can’t wait.